New developments

An Outline Assessment and Development Tool for Business Incubators

Earlier this year, UKBI and Aston Business School embarked on a joint ESRC funded project with the aim to obtain an online assessment and development tool for business incubators. The purpose of the tool is to offer an appropriate set of measures against which:

•  The skills and competencies of business incubator managers and their team can be assessed and benchmarked for their own and their stakeholders' use, within the auspices of a community of practice;


•  The performance and impact of a business incubator can be assessed.

Ultimately the project has the following objectives:

• Make the enhanced tool available to incubator managers widely;


• Through this process, identify development needs for business incubation managers and nurture a community of business incubation management practice, so that an effective peer support system is established.

Receiving support from IBCS - a software development company with experience in office/ business space management - the online assessment tool will crucially lend itself to longitudinal data collection on the performance and impact of business incubators, the proposed project aims to contribute to improved practice, rigorous research and evidence-based policy in this domain at local, regional, national and international levels. A set of papers will be produced during the course of the study and a dissemination workshop will also take place at UKBI’s Annual Conference in Lincoln in November 2012. The project is due to end in December 2012.

The awards

Each year, UK Business Incubation awards its members who have shown excellence in providing the right environment for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish. Open to members only, the awards give UKBI, the body for the advancement of best practice, the opportunity to reward those who strive to support world class businesses and entrepreneurs, impacting on local, regional and national economies whilst at the same time creating a sustainable environment for the future.This years Award Categories are Business Incubation Champion, International Business Incubation Champion, Achievement In Business Incubation and Outstanding Contribution to Business Incubation. Deadline for entries was October 5 2012. For further information about the awards , please contact Keiron Broadbent, k.broadbent@ukbi.co.uk

Annual Conference 2012

With interactive workshops, incubator tours, plenary sessions, roundtable discussions, networking reception and a prestigious International Gala Dinner there are lots of opportunities for learning and networking at the UKBI Annual Conference. Spread over three days the conference will cover a variety of topics across the business support spectrum.  In a departure from previous year’s Annual conferences the conference will be hosted by the University of Lincoln. The University of Lincoln has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the university league tables for good reason: it puts students at the heart of everything it does. Added to that, it is a research-based university with quality teaching, offering excellent career prospects for its graduates. The conference programme will look at how the University supports its student entrepreneurs, sharing best practice and giving the students themselves a platform to get involved.

 

UK Business Incubation (UKBI) has been the UK's and increasingly international principal and successful authority on business incubation, business incubation development and best practice since 1998. www.ukbi.co.uk